Real Name: Dunn (first name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human mutate (1950s era)
Occupation: Carnival sideshow performer, scientist
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Max
Enemies: Three unidentified thugs
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "The Largest Human on Earth" (as called by Max)
Base of Operations: Mobile with a traveling carnival, somewhere in the USA
First Appearance: Astonishing I#57/6 (January, 1957)
Powers/Abilities: Dunn was a brilliant scientist in the field of chemistry. Originally, he had no paranormal physical abilities, and was apparently shorter in stature than the average human male (see comments).
After imbibing his cell-growth accelerator, Dunn became a giant -- he also likely had increased strength and durability, although no specific examples were depicted.
Height: (originally) 5'4"; (after mutation) 12'
(both by approximation; see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Brown
History:
(Astonishing I#57/6 (fb) - BTS) - The past of Mr. Dunn is largely
unrevealed, but he'd always been an emotionally sensitive man, likely
due to his short stature (see comments). Although he was a brilliant
scientist, he was unworldly and impractical, and his research always
ended in fantastically useless projects. He was always jeered by his
colleagues, and after he lost his job, Dunn sank lower and lower into
depression, eventually becoming a shabby and nomadic hobo.
(Astonishing I#57/6 (fb)) - One stormy night, Dunn wandered into a traveling carnival; he went to the trailer of Max, the carnival's owner, and begged for shelter until it stopped raining. Seeing that the short derelict was flushed with fever and trembling with chills, the kind-hearted Max felt pity for him, so he gave him some coffee and a blanket, then offered to let him stay until his fever broke.
At some point later, Dunn felt better -- he gratefully thanked Max for his hospitality and told him that he would be moving on; but Max invited Dunn to stay as long as he wanted, and told him he could find work doing odd jobs around the carnival, so Dunn took him up on the offer -- Max didn't mention that his carnival was having financial troubles, and wasn't attracting the crowds it once had.
Dunn continued to stay with the carnival, and every once in a while, after work hours, he could be seen in Max's trailer, puttering around with some vials of chemicals -- Dunn was secretly working on his "cell-growth accelerator".
Late one night, while Dunn was sleeping and Max was counting out the day's receipts, three armed thugs broke into the trailer. As the crooks threatened Max and demanded his money, Dunn awoke, grabbed a vial of chemical mixture, and drank it -- he suddenly burst out of his clothing and through the ceiling of the trailer as he enlarged to giant-size! The sight of the huge Dunn frightened the three thugs, and they ran off without the money.
Moments later, Dunn told the startled Max about his past, then explained that the chemical he had been working on was his cell-growth accelerator -- although it was unrefined, and he was now stuck at giant-size, he drank it regardless because he saw a chance to help out his friend Max, the only man who had ever treated him with kindness.
Then Dunn proposed an idea -- under the promise of his maintaining complete anonymity, the giant Dunn volunteered to be the main attraction at the sideshow of Max's carnival -- he pointed out that between shows, he could work on his cell-growth accelerator and find a way to return himself back to his normal size again; Max was intrigued with the idea, so he accepted Dunn's offer.
(Astonishing I#57/6) - And so Max presented the giant Mr. Dunn at his sideshow, which drew a large crowd of paying customers.
After the show, Max was approached by a pair of reporters, who promised him free publicity if he told them the "inside story" of how he found the giant; but remembering his promise, Max kept his word and refused to divulge any information about Dunn.
During the next show, when Max once again presented the giant Dunn to the audience, one of the spectators disparagingly called out, "He's big all right...but I'll bet his brain is as small as a peanut!"; Mr. Dunn and Max exchanged a knowing wink with each other, because they knew the spectator was wrong...
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and John Romita.
This 4-page story--The Strange Power of Mr. Dunn!--didn't have many images of the pre-mutation Dunn standing next to anything by which to gauge his height; but one of the carnival workers referred to him as "that little useless hobo," while Max later referred to him as "little Dunn" in a thought-balloon, which gave me the impression that Dunn was supposed to be shorter than the average man.
Mr. Dunn as a sideshow attraction reminded me of Hercules (Varen David), another unusually large man who worked as a circus performer.
Until he found a way to reverse his giant-size, maybe Dunn could have worked with the Monster Hunters or the First Line.
Mr. Dunn was in a similar situation as Hank Pym, who later became Goliath and was trapped at the height of 10 feet for a while (@ Avengers I#28-35).
This story would be reprinted in Tomb of Darkness I#14 (May, 1975), wherein it was mistakenly credited as being from Astonishing Tales#57.
Profile by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Mr. Dunn should not be confused with:
Max should not be confused with:
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The kindly Max (last name unrevealed) was the owner of a traveling carnival, but attendance was down, and he had a hard enough time just meeting the payroll. One stormy night, the hobo Mr. Dunn came inside Max's trailer and begged Max to let him stay until it stopped raining; Max felt pity for the short derelict because he could see that Dunn was flushed with fever and trembling with chills, so he offered to let him stay until his fever broke. Some time later, after he had recovered from his illness, Dunn was ready to move on; but Max offered to let him stay in his trailer as long as he wanted, and despite his financial troubles, he offered Dunn work, doing odd jobs at the carnival. Although some of the other carnival workers told him he should get rid of the "useless little hobo," Max wanted Dunn to stay because he seemed to be happy there. |
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Whenever Dunn was finished with work, Max would always see him puttering with some vials of chemicals, but Max had his own concerns just keeping the carnival operating. One night, while Dunn was asleep and Max was counting the day's receipts, three armed thugs broke into the trailer and demanded the money. Realizing he didn't stand a chance against the trio of robbers, Max was prepared to surrender the cash; but out of the corner of his eye, Max spotted Dunn drinking from a chemical vial, and the little man instantly turned into a giant! Shocked by the sudden appearance of the huge Dunn, the three frightened thugs fled from the trailer without the money. Afterward, Dunn revealed to Max the secret of his past -- Dunn was actually a brilliant scientist, and he had created a cell-growth accelerator, which had turned him into a giant; but the chemical mixture was unrefined, so Dunn was now trapped at giant-size. Then Dunn proposed an idea -- until he developed an antidote to return himself to normal, Dunn offered to be the sideshow attraction at Max's carnival. After agreeing to Dunn's offer, Max's business immediately picked up, and his carnival brought in large crowds, all paying to see "The Largest Human on Earth". --Astonishing I#57/6 |
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images: (without ads)
Astonishing I#57/6, p1, pan1 (main image - giant Mr. Dunn on sideshow
stage; Max [right})
Astonishing I#57/6, p4, pan4 (headshot - giant Mr. Dunn)
Astonishing I#57/6, p2, pan4 (in flashback, pre-mutation hobo Mr. Dunn
in Max's trailer; Max [background])
Astonishing I#57/6, p3, pan2 (in flashback, Mr. Dunn drinks vial of
cell-growth accelerator; Max [background])
Astonishing I#57/6, p3, pan4 (in flashback, Mr. Dunn grows to giant
size; Max [left], three thugs [right])
Astonishing I#57/6, p4, pan8 (giant Mr. Dunn and Max exchange knowing
winks)
Astonishing I#57/6, p4, pan5 (Max)
Astonishing I#57/6, p2, pan5 (in flashback, Max [right] attends
to ill Dunn)
Astonishing I#57/6, p3, pan7 (in flashback, Max [left] speaks
with giant Dunn)
Astonishing I#57/6, p4, pan6 (Max [right] presents giant Dunn
to another audience)
Appearances:
Astonishing I#57/6 (January, 1957) - unidentified writer, John Romita
(pencils/inks), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 05/13/2026
Last updated: 05/13/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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